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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25484554">Working Hypothesis</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos'>Cookies_and_Chaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rizzoli &amp; Isles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:20:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25484554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>While Maura is away at a medical examiner's convention, Rizzoli takes great delight in teasing Susie in her absence. AU of the episode, "Knockout".</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli, Susie Chang/Jane Rizzoli</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Working Hypothesis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I won't tell if you won't", Jane stage whispered, watching the laptop screen out of the corner of her eye. Right on cue, Maura sighed and rolled her eyes before settling back in her chair with a fond smile.</p><p>"I don't think...", Susie glanced at the screen and her brow furrowed, "Doctor Isles wouldn't... you know she can hear us right?"</p><p>"Just pretend she's not that, I can put a towel over the laptop if it helps", Jane offered, waving her hand in front of the laptop camera.</p><p>"She would still be there", Susie looked so bewildered that it took all of Jane's restraint to not smile.</p><p>"Let's turn her off then, then we can have all the fun in the world. Guessing, calling reddish-brown stains blood, predicting murder weapons...", Jane reached for the top of the laptop.</p><p>"Jane", Maura tried to use her firm voice, but the effect was diminished since she sounded like she was trying not to laugh.</p><p>"Better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission", Jane grinned, "Bye Maura!"</p><p>With that, Jane pushed the laptop screen down and put it into sleep mode. Susie's eyes grew wide and she stood frozen to the spot. Jane took a step closer, her height forcing Susie to look up to maintain eye contact. Susie swallowed nervously and started to say something and stopped. Jane raised her eyebrow and waited for Susie to speak. </p><p>"Are you really going to make me go against protocol?", Susie asked eventually.</p><p>"Nah", Jane waved her hand as she stepped back and loped towards the door, "Just messing with you, I've got what I came for".</p><p>Susie's face was definitely worth it.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>As soon as the Skype call came through that evening, Jane knew that she was in for two lines of questioning. The first, about how much she had led Maura's staff astray, was mercifully brief. Jane expected that she would get a far more in-depth grilling on that particular topic when Maura was back and had had time to question her staff about Jane's reign of enthusiastic bending of protocol. The second line of questioning followed shortly after Maura was satisfied that Jane hadn't brought about the downfall of the laboratory.</p><p>"Are you having fun flirting with Senior Analyst Chang in my absence?", Maura's bedroom was mercifully free of drunken medical examiners, and the laptop and Maura were both on the bed. Maura had probably used the same tone to order them away as she did when she was telling Jane that she couldn't have dessert before dinner or that the toppings on pizza did not count as one of Jane's five-a-day. The voice worked on Jane about half the time so she expected it was more effective on those less accustomed to standing their ground against Maura.</p><p>"Flirting? I have done no such thing", Jane kicked the door to her bedroom open and nearly spilt her glass of sparkling water, then nearly dropped the laptop when she lunged to save the drink.</p><p>"You shouldn't walk around with both hands full, Jane", Maura chastised but it was more of an utterance of habit than one of real disapproval and Jane lightly dropped the laptop onto the bed, "And you were definitely flirting".</p><p>"Fine, but it's so fun when she gets flustered, it's even more fun than winding you up", Jane called as she undressed and got into her sleeping attire. She grinned as the commentary from Maura fell away while she did so.</p><p>"Anyway, let's stop talking about Susie for now", Jane said as she got into bed and moved the laptop over, "I've got something much more enjoyable in mind".</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>"I can't believe how much you corrupted my staff in such little time", Maura said as she let Jane pull her into a one-armed embrace, "I left an efficient team of pure scientists and came back to chaos".</p><p>"It's hardly chaos", Jane smirked, planting a kiss on Maura's temple, "They all just saw things from a different perspective for a while. And Susie's dioramas really helped, she combined science and police work, you can't ask for more than that".</p><p>"She did do an excellent job", Maura agreed and then asked, "I think she has a crush on you, did you know that?"</p><p>Jane laughed for a few seconds before realising that Maura wasn't laughing with her, "You're kidding?"</p><p>"Well, she doesn't make <em>me</em> dioramas, and you must have noticed how she gets tongue-tied around you, especially if it's just you and her", Maura explained, "I think it's the appeal of the action hero, it's a very common source of attraction".</p><p>"So is it me you're calling common or Susie?", Jane teased.</p><p>Maura went to answer and then gently slapped Jane's arm when she figured out that Jane was winding her up.</p><p>"So that's why Chang worked so hard on this case, for little old me", Jane exaggerated the drawl at the end of the sentence and earned herself another gentle slap on the arm, "We should invite her out one night, see just how flustered we can make her", Jane's smiled grew broader.</p><p>"I'm her boss, that's hardly appropriate", Maura shook her head.</p><p>"You spoil all my fun", Jane sighed.</p><p>"Fraternisation rules are in place for good reason, Jane, they there to -", and before Maura could really get started, Jane grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and ushered Maura towards the door.</p><p>"Yes, yes I know", Jane said, "Come on, we'll be late for Korsak".</p><p>"There's nothing to stop you spending more time with Susie though", Maura walked on ahead of Jane, "I wouldn't mind".</p><p>"Well yeah, I'm not her boss so there's no frat-", Jane stopped walking and replayed what Maura had just said in her head, "Wait, what? Really?"</p>
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